Monday, 18 September 2017

Rach Eats Lunch: Vegetarian Sausage Casserole

I have a serious love-hate affair with autumn that can be summarized in a list: I love crisp autumn mornings with blue skies and white fluffy clouds, I love walking through the woods on said autumn mornings, and wearing a coat when it's just a bit bitingly cold - so cold you can see your breath. I love wearing long sleeved t-shirts (and trousers, obviously) and a scarf from my pretty extensive collection. I love twirly falling leaves and windfall apples and the idea of harvest. I love scaring trick or treaters at Halloween and watching fireworks without having to pay to get in. I also really love making an apple crumble and eating it with custard. And soup - but just the once or twice.

Right, things I don't like about autumn: the clocks going back. The darkness. The rain. The wet. The absolutely freezing temperatures. Having to pack the equilvent of a large suitcase before leaving the house, and having to carry your coat with you if it gets warm during the day. The feeling of waking up in the dark and going to bed in the dark. The claustrophobia that comes with it - the feeling you can't get out on a walk in the woods before 5pm because it might be creepy and you might bump into an angry wild boar or have a bat land on your head.

Do you see where I'm coming from with this? I'm trying to balance out the feeling of OMG-it's-autumn-I'm-going-to-die-from-the-dark with meals that are slightly more filling enough to satisfy your stodge craving, but still diet friendly. Earlier in the year I made a fantastic chickpea bolognese and, with a few little tweaks here and there, I'm going to adapt it as the base to my sausage casserole. Oh yes, I went there. This is pretty much what autumn is about - well, it is in books and on the telly and stuff - but with more veggies and a super delicious tomato base. Let's all just sit here and pretend we like the long dark nights while we eat it, eh?

Defrost the vegetarian sausages. Prep the vegetables, peel the sweet potato and cube it.On a baking tray, cook the sausages and sweet potatoes in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 180℃. Make sure the sweet potato has a light coat of oil first. Turn the sausages and sweet potatoes halfway through cooking.While we wait, add the tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, salad tomato, peppers, onions, courgettes and spices to a saucepan. Begin to cook it on a medium heat, stirring throughout until it's piping hot. Please wear an apron as the sauce will splash!Once the sausages and sweet potato are done, remove them from the oven. Chop the sausages into bitesized pieces. The sweet potato should be a bold orange shade and slightly softened - don't worry too much as it will soften some more in the pan!Add the sausages and sweet potato to the saucepan, give it a gentle stir and simmer for five minutes. Serve immediately.

And that, my friends, is how we make sausage casserole. You can eat it however you like, whether that's with a nice bit of flatbread (or some chunky tiger bread), topped on a jacket spud or with a side of rice. It doesn't matter really, it still tastes pretty darn good. What's your favourite part of autumn? Do you like it? Or do you love/hate it just like I do?